B.C. bands sign fishing agreement

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Native bands along the Fraser River watershed in British Columbia have signed an agreement amongst themselves to restore order to their fishery.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed in Vancouver March 25, Lower Fraser Fishing Authority spokesman Ernie Crey said. The agreement between the 97 bands throughout the Fraser River watershed, including those on the Thompson, Nechako, Adams and other tributary rivers, is designed to keep neighboring bands from infringing on one another's fishing rights.

"The principle was to respect historical, territorial regions," he said. "All First Nations along the Fraser agreed to come together to make sure 1993 Aboriginal fishing is well managed with profitable results."

The agreement commits each signing nation to more effective watershed resource management and conservation efforts.

"Now nation rights must be recognized between nations," he said.

The deal, signed by almost half the Native communities in B.C., represents the first broad based accord between First Nations, Crey said. Previous attempts at forming an agreement have been unsuccessful.

The accord will also help guide Natives in negotiations with each other and the federal government. The memorandum includes:

- a clear recognition that First Nations communities bear a responsibility to "protect, conserve and enhance" Fraser Basin Fisheries;

- a commitment to work co-operatively, on a consensus basis, in developing

co-ordinated fishing plans;

- a provision for an annual fisheries management plan to include harvest management, enforcement, conservation, allocation, habitat protection and enhancement;

- systems to resolve disputes.

Meanwhile, talks between Natives and the Department of Fisheries and Ocean

over the implementation of Ottawa's Aboriginal Fishing Strategy continue in Vancouver.

Some B.C. commercial fishermen have objected to the negotiations, charging the federal government with deliberately excluding non-Native fishermen from the talks.

Native and non-Native fishermen in B.C. have clashed over fishing rights since last fall when salmon stocks in the Fraser River fell short by nearly half a million fish.